Let's Chat Characters

[Taelia offline]

Actually, I think Skipperdee's right! Her spoiled attitude is just a cover.

[Carth]

Wow. That is about as accurate as it can get.

She came clean in Seeing is Believing-she just wants to be accepted. Not to mention, several times after that. But, unfortuantely, RTTPs wiped all of these confessions. Someday, she'll see that spoiled attitudes attract attention all right, but the wrong kind. She'll confess to someone. And I personally hope it's Odd. ^_^

[Taelia offline]

Yeah, I think so too. Odd is a much better boyfriend for Sissi.

[animenologist offline]

Although I think Skipperdee had an interesting write-up about Sissi, I think some of his ideas are a bit inaccurate. Though I believe being able to manipulate her father has influenced the cunning and scheming side of her personality, I doubt this has caused a backlash against her from the student body. For example in Teddygozilla, Sissi was named beauty queen of the student prom from the prior year and was nominated as a candidate this year. And usually for occassions like this, nominees and the actual queen are chosen by their peers, and from the candidates shown, it can come from any grade. So the fact that she was chosen as queen one year earlier, and nominated to compete against higher grade seniors means she does have some social weight. If she didn't have any weight I would also think she would be the last person the students would try to represent them in a petition to get there cell phones back in Satellite.

She does have female friends, for example, in Mr. Puck when she was walking into the bathroom, she was followed closely by 2 female companions, who partaked in laughing at Emily and Aelita after the whole wolf thing. I believe there was an earlier Season 1 episode that showed Sissi speaking to another female, but I can't seem to remember which. Having her own room is not indicative of her own social rank. The only people we know to have roommates are Odd and Ulrich and Milly and Tamiya. Both Jeremie and Aelita have their own rooms, so Sissi is not alone in having her own room. Usually, a solo room is given as a choice in apartments and dorms for those willing to pay the extra money, not usually indicative of ones social standing.

It would seem unlikely that Sissi is latching onto Ulrich and his friends as a way of boosting her standing, as she met and has been pursuing Ulrich since elementary school, as said in Marabounta, and after many years of still failing to gain his approval, she still is a prom queen, despite her nasty attitude. Even more so, only Odd and Ulrich seem to any standing socially, while Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremie are outsiders for the most part, one being a workaholic shut-in, one being Ulrich without a bunch of guys saying shes cute, and one whose just plain shy . Though the show may seem to give an impression of her being hated by the student body, the show rarely focuses on their lives outside of Lyoko, or the secondary characters lives, her social life is not dwelt upon other than those who consider her an annoyance (Jeremie and the gang, primarily).

The way I see it, Sissi's personality seems similar to the development of Helga Pataki from Hey! Arnold. She, for some reason, has some undying infatuation for Ulrich, that for the most part seems sincere. But due to some emotional insecurity, she refuses to show that soft side of herself, and instead puts up a front of self-adulation and over-confidence in herself to be shown like a bill board to the whole student body. Along with her crush on Ulrich, she sees it linked to the close comradery between him and the rest of the gang. Either driven by her desire for Ulrich, or because of it, she wishes to join the gang, either to be closer to Ulrich or to gain acceptance into a close knit group. This of course, is shown best in Ultimatum, in which she given Jeremie and his friends the benefit of a doubt when they weaved this strange tale of a virtual world, compared to their efforts with William in Attack of the Zombies. Even more interesting was that it was Aelita and Jeremie that convinced her and not Ulrich, showing that she was commited to gaining the entire gang's favor, and not just Ulrich.

How this actually started up depends on her untold history. We don't know whether she met Ulrich prior to the Lyoko gang forming up, if her front was started due to events taking place in her early child hood or that she always was that way, maybe it could of been something she picked up due to her mother, wherever she is, who knows what could have formed her character. We don't know how she came about, but the way she has been slowly becoming more civil with the gang, we can make guesses where she is going. And I hope she stays the course.

[Skipperdee offline]

Although I think Skipperdee had an interesting write-up about Sissi, I think some of his ideas are a bit inaccurate. Though I believe being able to manipulate her father has influenced the cunning and scheming side of her personality, I doubt this has caused a backlash against her from the student body. For example in Teddygozilla, Sissi was named beauty queen of the student prom from the prior year and was nominated as a candidate this year. And usually for occassions like this, nominees and the actual queen are chosen by their peers, and from the candidates shown, it can come from any grade. So the fact that she was chosen as queen one year earlier, and nominated to compete against higher grade seniors means she does have some social weight. If she didn't have any weight I would also think she would be the last person the students would try to represent them in a petition to get there cell phones back in Satellite.

I disagree that having your father as the principal couldn't have some sort of backlash with your peers, because, as I think is the case with Sissi, it could give you that I-have-power-so-be-nice-to-me attitude which people generally don't seem to like. And while yes, she was a beauty queen then nominated as one again, those votes were just as likely to come from Herb and Nicholas and people like them as any one else. And when she won, it didn't say if anyone had opposed her... (okay that was a stretch) And for the Sattellite thing, I think she kind of spear-headed the whole thing, so she was a natural leader choice.

She does have female friends, for example, in Mr. Puck when she was walking into the bathroom, she was followed closely by 2 female companions, who partaked in laughing at Emily and Aelita after the whole wolf thing. I believe there was an earlier Season 1 episode that showed Sissi speaking to another female, but I can't seem to remember which. Having her own room is not indicative of her own social rank. The only people we know to have roommates are Odd and Ulrich and Milly and Tamiya. Both Jeremie and Aelita have their own rooms, so Sissi is not alone in having her own room. Usually, a solo room is given as a choice in apartments and dorms for those willing to pay the extra money, not usually indicative of ones social standing.

True, true. Ha, I knew someone would bring up Mr. Puck! Right after I submitted this, I went out and watched an episode of CL and it just happened to be Mr. Puck and I saw those two girls and was like, "Yeah, somebody's going to mention them." They could have just happened to follow her into the bathroom (unlikely) or they might have been female version of Herb and Nicholas. I don't really know, as I wasn't there. But you bring up a good point. Of course not sharing a room isn't indicative of social standing, what I was trying to point out is that since Sissi doesn't have a roommate, she probably doesn't have a close female friend, close like Odd and Ulrich are friends. Jeremie, while he is certainly good friends with Odd and Ulrich, doesn't share that brotherly relationship with them.

It would seem unlikely that Sissi is latching onto Ulrich and his friends as a way of boosting her standing, as she met and has been pursuing Ulrich since elementary school, as said in Marabounta, and after many years of still failing to gain his approval, she still is a prom queen, despite her nasty attitude. Even more so, only Odd and Ulrich seem to any standing socially, while Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremie are outsiders for the most part, one being a workaholic shut-in, one being Ulrich without a bunch of guys saying shes cute, and one whose just plain shy . Though the show may seem to give an impression of her being hated by the student body, the show rarely focuses on their lives outside of Lyoko, or the secondary characters lives, her social life is not dwelt upon other than those who consider her an annoyance (Jeremie and the gang, primarily).

The way I see it, Sissi's personality seems similar to the development of Helga Pataki from Hey! Arnold. She, for some reason, has some undying infatuation for Ulrich, that for the most part seems sincere. But due to some emotional insecurity, she refuses to show that soft side of herself, and instead puts up a front of self-adulation and over-confidence in herself to be shown like a bill board to the whole student body. Along with her crush on Ulrich, she sees it linked to the close comradery between him and the rest of the gang. Either driven by her desire for Ulrich, or because of it, she wishes to join the gang, either to be closer to Ulrich or to gain acceptance into a close knit group. This of course, is shown best in Ultimatum, in which she given Jeremie and his friends the benefit of a doubt when they weaved this strange tale of a virtual world, compared to their efforts with William in Attack of the Zombies. Even more interesting was that it was Aelita and Jeremie that convinced her and not Ulrich, showing that she was commited to gaining the entire gang's favor, and not just Ulrich.

She is just like Helga! Wow. I would've never made that connection if you hadn't brought it up, but you're very right. Like I said, Sissi is no idiot and she'll help the gang in any way possible because she genuinely likes and admires them. That's probably why she was so mean to Aelita, because Aelita came to school and she was in the group just like that, while Sissi had been trying to gain entrance forever.

How this actually started up depends on her untold history. We don't know whether she met Ulrich prior to the Lyoko gang forming up, if her front was started due to events taking place in her early child hood or that she always was that way, maybe it could of been something she picked up due to her mother, wherever she is, who knows what could have formed her character. We don't know how she came about, but the way she has been slowly becoming more civil with the gang, we can make guesses where she is going. And I hope she stays the course.

You make many very, very good points, and I'd like to debate this further but my bus is coming, so I have to go

[LadyLucy offline]

Sissy is annoying and rude, but once in a great while, can be bearable. She's fun to play pranks on though, she's so stupid...

[Taelia offline]

Yeah, what they call a "pretty idiot". But she does have intelligence.

[Skipperdee offline]

An idiot with intelligence. Now that's what you call an oxymoron.

[Cassius335 offline]

Hey, even Jeremie has his stupid moments. Hell, he's the smart one and entire EPISODES get made out of his screw-ups.

So, if an intellect can be idiotic, why not the other way round?

[LadyLucy offline]

True, but when Jeremie's 'dumb', he's cute dumb. When SIssy is dumb, you just wanna kill her...

[Skiiran Lord offline]

I think it's more that she isn't very willing to DO anything about the gang, but she still wants in. Something like she...what's the word I'm looking for?

I do agree with the Idiotic Intellectual argument, though. Seems to explain a lot.

[LadyLucy offline]

Follower...that's what she is... Maybe, if she'd be more orignal and nice, she's be better liked...

[animenologist offline]

I disagree that having your father as the principal couldn't have some sort of backlash with your peers, because, as I think is the case with Sissi, it could give you that I-have-power-so-be-nice-to-me attitude which people generally don't seem to like. And while yes, she was a beauty queen then nominated as one again, those votes were just as likely to come from Herb and Nicholas and people like them as any one else. And when she won, it didn't say if anyone had opposed her... (okay that was a stretch) And for the Sattellite thing, I think she kind of spear-headed the whole thing, so she was a natural leader choice.

Though that power could have some backlash against certain individuals, it is not significant enough to alter her social rank in any significant way. We know that some people dislike her and her narcissicistic attitude, as shown by certain individuals like Milly and Tamiya or Jeremie and the gang or even Emily after what happened in the showers, but generally with the student body, she has to viewed positively, otherwise she wouldn't be elected queen. And if it came from a bunch of people like Nicholas and Herb, that would mean that a large plurality of the school have a similar view of Sissi, now wouldn't it? As for Satelite, if you don't like the leader, even if they have similar views, you would choose someone else to represent you. Just because she spear-headed the operation, doesn't mean she should be representing them, especially if the general student body doesn't like her.

True, true. Ha, I knew someone would bring up Mr. Puck! Right after I submitted this, I went out and watched an episode of CL and it just happened to be Mr. Puck and I saw those two girls and was like, "Yeah, somebody's going to mention them." They could have just happened to follow her into the bathroom (unlikely) or they might have been female version of Herb and Nicholas. I don't really know, as I wasn't there. But you bring up a good point. Of course not sharing a room isn't indicative of social standing, what I was trying to point out is that since Sissi doesn't have a roommate, she probably doesn't have a close female friend, close like Odd and Ulrich are friends. Jeremie, while he is certainly good friends with Odd and Ulrich, doesn't share that brotherly relationship with them.

Just because she doesn't bunk with someone doesn't mean you don't have close friends. I'm pretty sure the majority people posting on this forum can name someone they consider a dear friend that they trust like family, but don't share living quarters with. The closest friend I have, we spend more time talking via AIM than in person, due to a large distance gap between us, what with him being in Texas and me being in Florida. On the other hand, there was this guy I used to room with in school dorms, where while we were in good terms with each other, we never developed the close bond of friendship I had with my friend who currently is in Texas.

She desires to be a part of them and thats why she will help out if they plead with her or bargain with her, unlike William, who has no great reason to associate with 4/5 of the gang and thus the difference in response when the gang told each individual about XANA. But even still, she still likes to keep up her front, its what she has shown to the world and is most accustomed to and not something she will give up lightly, so progress will be slow. But she is slowly getting there.

[JeremysGirl offline]

True, but when Jeremie's 'dumb', he's cute dumb. When SIssy is dumb, you just wanna kill her...

True, when Sissi's dumb you just want to slap her around.

[Skipperdee offline]

Though that power could have some backlash against certain individuals, it is not significant enough to alter her social rank in any significant way. We know that some people dislike her and her narcissicistic attitude, as shown by certain individuals like Milly and Tamiya or Jeremie and the gang or even Emily after what happened in the showers, but generally with the student body, she has to viewed positively, otherwise she wouldn't be elected queen. And if it came from a bunch of people like Nicholas and Herb, that would mean that a large plurality of the school have a similar view of Sissi, now wouldn't it? As for Satelite, if you don't like the leader, even if they have similar views, you would choose someone else to represent you. Just because she spear-headed the operation, doesn't mean she should be representing them, especially if the general student body doesn't like her.

Maybe I'm just playing devil's advocate here- my teachers say I do that too much- but it is possible that Sissi has people who would vote for her in a contest but don't necessarily "like" her well enough to hang out with her all the time. They would be the acquaintances you kind of nod at in the halls but don't really talk to other than a "Hey, what's up?" now and again. It has to be said that Sissi has a very strong personality, and she knows what she wants when she wants it (or at least acts that way). Some people admire that and that might gain Sissi a few more of these "friends" and voters. I also failed to mention before that while Sissi isn't necessarily the most popular girl in school, most people do appear to know who she is, and if you had to choose between electing someone you sort of knew or a few who you really did not know, more than likely you will vote for the person you sort of know, unless you full on hate her, and, as you said, most people don't seem to hate Sissi, they just get annoyed with her once in a while. As for Nicholas and Herb, I know they have tremendous crushes on Sissi and follow her around all the time, but I wouldn't call them her friends even. How well do they even know her? It just seems (to me) like they like her because she's a pretty girl, independent, and she "plays hard to get". Except in the case of Ulrich, of course. But that's a discussion for another day.

In Satellite, I don't know if she was so much chosen as she just appointed herself. Given Sissi's fairly commanding personality, this seems like something she'd do, especially considering how passionate she was about her phone. It kind of appeared to me that not only did she lead the students through everything, but the entire thing appeared to be her idea. She decided to have a sit in, she decided to have a rally, she formed the protest march, everything was her idea. Why shouldn't she be the leader? She's a doer, a natural born leader, and if she gathered the students together and stood any chance of having success, would you kick her out of her command position just because you didn't like her? Probably not, if you really cared about the cause.

Just because she doesn't bunk with someone doesn't mean you don't have close friends. I'm pretty sure the majority people posting on this forum can name someone they consider a dear friend that they trust like family, but don't share living quarters with. The closest friend I have, we spend more time talking via AIM than in person, due to a large distance gap between us, what with him being in Texas and me being in Florida. On the other hand, there was this guy I used to room with in school dorms, where while we were in good terms with each other, we never developed the close bond of friendship I had with my friend who currently is in Texas.

I didn't say that Sissi had no close friends as a direct effect of her single room. And I completely agree that people can have very close and fulfilling long distance relationships. But I do think that a lot of people who do share close living quarters with another feel close to those people just because you know so much about them, all their little habits and such. Do you necessarily have to live with them to know these things? No. A lot of college roommates become extremely close though- my sister and her roommate refer to each other as sisters, and while this may not always be the case, there stands a good chance that a close bond will form between two people if they are around each other enough and don't completely hate each other to begin with.

Another thing- I'm talking about close female friends that Sissi could potentially tell all her problems to. I doubt that Herb and Nicholas are very receptive when Sissi talks about Ulrich's rejection, because although they've been rejected by her, they probably react in a very different way than she does, whether it be because they are boys or some other reason. They can try to sympathize, but they might not know exactly what she is talking about, leaving Sissi feeling very frustrated and alone. On the flip side, if Sissi had a close female friend, whose brain probably works in a similar fashion to Sissi's own, then Sissi stands a better chance of being understood and actually getting consoled because this friend knows what happened and knows how Sissi is feeling and has possibly been in such a position herself, whereas Herb and Nicholas might be completely clueless.

Yet another thing- keep in mind that I am in no way trying to diminish the importance to you of your friendship with the person living in Texas- don't you think your relationship would be easier- just a little- if you lived closer to each other? You could see each other more and possibly better understand what is going on in each other's lives, making each of you more empathetic regarding the other's thoughts and emotions (not that you aren't empathetic now). For example, I have two friends, both of whom I would consider very good friends of mine. One of these friends I see A LOT- we're in several classes together, we ride the same bus together, we do a lot of the same stuff, and we sit together at lunch- thus we're pretty close. The other friend I don't see much of, although we attend the same school and have 2 classes together, we just don't hang out and talk as much as my other friend and I do. This particular friend has a habit of asking me who I have a crush on all the time, and I find it hard to tell her, not because I don't trust her or I think she's going to laugh at me or anything, but because I'm not entirely sure she would understand why I liked so-and-so, among other things. She doesn't understand me quite like my other friend does, who I would tell any secret to in a heartbeat because I know it will be well received. If Sissi had someone around who knew her like that, I think she'd probably be a happier girl.

I agree with you that Sissi isn't a social outcast, but I don't think she has enough friends, or at least close friends, to keep her satisfied. That's why she's trying to get in with the group- she sees the camaraderie and rapport between the five and wants to be a part of it, because she probably doesn't get those same feelings with Herb and Nicholas. But her confident mask is, like you said, something she is accustomed to. Old habits die hard, and I doubt Sissi will lay her feelings out in front of God and everybody anytime in the near, near future, but as you said, the protective shell she created for herself is slowly beginning to crack. She's getting there, and I can't wait to see how she turns out. I think it's really going to be a great thing, both for her and all her peers- the gang included

[Skysong offline]

Yes! People get it! *happy dance*

Oh, and the only reason Sissi tolerates Nick and Herb is because she needs stoogies. Sissi likes having people to jerk around. You'll notice that as Sissi picked up more of a character in season two, Nicholas and Herb kind of fade out...

[LadyLucy offline]

Charicter? Sissy? *fake, sarcastic gasp* Never!! Kidding. I know what you mean...poor Herb...he so needs a girlfriend.

[Skysong offline]

I would *die* of laughter if Herb got a girlfriend. Now *there's* a boy with no character.

[Taelia offline]

S2's primary focal character was Sissi. The episode "Ultimatum" was the best episode ever for her being accepted. This episode was so amazing!

[Mewberries151]

S2's primary focal character was Sissi. The episode "Ultimatum" was the best episode ever for her being accepted. This episode was so amazing!

Umm...wouldn't S2's primary focal character be Aelita? It was all about curing her "virus" and figuring out what those "memories" meant. ^^

[animenologist offline]

If by focal, you mean a lot of development, they all have had a fair share of highlighting and exploration of character. Thats one of Code: Lyoko's biggest strengths, imo. A decentralization of the main cast so that all the characters have their fair share in the lime light and all get developed with a lot of focus on the team. Usually fictions that have a team will place one above all the rest and sometimes neglect another, which I dislike a lot in team oriented action cartoons.

If by focal, you mean most vital in the plot arc, then obviously it would be Aelita. Plot-wise, she is the most important character since she has the biggest connection to Lyoko, of which the show revolves around. By that logic, wouldn't Aelita have been the focal character of Season 1 since the whole season revolved around materializing her and bring her to the real world? In any story, its almost impossible to not have one character be more important, because certain characters are built to be more influential or of great importance to the setting, plot, or story, but still, I love the equality in focus.

[Taelia offline]

In TB3's documentary, "Code: Lyoko in a nutshell", he explains that Sissi is the primary focus of S2, because she was a well-liked character by the fans.

[Skiiran Lord offline]

That's still kind of hard to understand though, since, as animenologist said, there's a large decentralization of the main characters, so in my eyes that would equal all of the minor characters that show up more than once being the main part of the season.

[LadyLucy offline]

I would *die* of laughter if Herb got a girlfriend. Now *there's* a boy with no character.

But he does need a hug. If he was just a little nicer, (and took medicien for his acne problem) I'm sure he wouldn't be all that bad. (and besides...he is a nerd...)

[animenologist offline]

Maybe I'm just playing devil's advocate here- my teachers say I do that too much- but it is possible that Sissi has people who would vote for her in a contest but don't necessarily "like" her well enough to hang out with her all the time. They would be the acquaintances you kind of nod at in the halls but don't really talk to other than a "Hey, what's up?" now and again. It has to be said that Sissi has a very strong personality, and she knows what she wants when she wants it (or at least acts that way). Some people admire that and that might gain Sissi a few more of these "friends" and voters. I also failed to mention before that while Sissi isn't necessarily the most popular girl in school, most people do appear to know who she is, and if you had to choose between electing someone you sort of knew or a few who you really did not know, more than likely you will vote for the person you sort of know, unless you full on hate her, and, as you said, most people don't seem to hate Sissi, they just get annoyed with her once in a while. As for Nicholas and Herb, I know they have tremendous crushes on Sissi and follow her around all the time, but I wouldn't call them her friends even. How well do they even know her? It just seems (to me) like they like her because she's a pretty girl, independent, and she "plays hard to get". Except in the case of Ulrich, of course. But that's a discussion for another day.

In Satellite, I don't know if she was so much chosen as she just appointed herself. Given Sissi's fairly commanding personality, this seems like something she'd do, especially considering how passionate she was about her phone. It kind of appeared to me that not only did she lead the students through everything, but the entire thing appeared to be her idea. She decided to have a sit in, she decided to have a rally, she formed the protest march, everything was her idea. Why shouldn't she be the leader? She's a doer, a natural born leader, and if she gathered the students together and stood any chance of having success, would you kick her out of her command position just because you didn't like her? Probably not, if you really cared about the cause.

While I agree that such people are not really her "friends", the general student body would have a generally positive, or at the very least neutral point of view towards Sissi's character. Even having a generally neutral point of view of her is not what I would consider backlash. Otherwise she would never be elected queen. If she is regarded in a negative light by the plurality of the students, they wouldn't vote for her, plus with such a close body of students, what with many of the living near each other, I would doubt any of her major negative actions would be secret for too long. Either way, would you rather vote for someone you know and dislike, or someone you don't know? As for Nicholas and Herb, I like to think of them as the classic nerds carrying the popular girl's books for her type dealies. They're her stooges and wish to do stuff for her so they can be within her prescence. Even still, she atleast helps them out ocassionally, like Nicholas in Seeing is Believing.

I'm still of the opinion that if the students regarded her in a negative light, someone else would be chosen to lead in Satellite. Kinda like that Disney's Doug plot where Patti led a group of students against a new uniform enforcement. She became so disliked, despite her charisma and forthright attitude, that the entire group split into factions and became one big mess. If they don't like her, even with a common goal, if she doesn't play to the students she leads, they break off. The fact that they stuck behind must mean atleast some sense of trust in her and a positive response to her personality in this regard.

I didn't say that Sissi had no close friends as a direct effect of her single room. And I completely agree that people can have very close and fulfilling long distance relationships. But I do think that a lot of people who do share close living quarters with another feel close to those people just because you know so much about them, all their little habits and such. Do you necessarily have to live with them to know these things? No. A lot of college roommates become extremely close though- my sister and her roommate refer to each other as sisters, and while this may not always be the case, there stands a good chance that a close bond will form between two people if they are around each other enough and don't completely hate each other to begin with.

Though you didn't state it as a direct connection, you did place the room thing within your argument which I found disagreeable. Again, though it may be possible, even common for roommates to become close friends, its just as common, that they could be on good terms with each other, but not in such a relationship. Also take into account possible boy-girl friends or relations where members of the opposite gender share a sibling-like relationship, but most dorms will not allow bunking together or the possibility that she may have friends like that, but her father believes it better just to be by herself.

Another thing- I'm talking about close female friends that Sissi could potentially tell all her problems to. I doubt that Herb and Nicholas are very receptive when Sissi talks about Ulrich's rejection, because although they've been rejected by her, they probably react in a very different way than she does, whether it be because they are boys or some other reason. They can try to sympathize, but they might not know exactly what she is talking about, leaving Sissi feeling very frustrated and alone. On the flip side, if Sissi had a close female friend, whose brain probably works in a similar fashion to Sissi's own, then Sissi stands a better chance of being understood and actually getting consoled because this friend knows what happened and knows how Sissi is feeling and has possibly been in such a position herself, whereas Herb and Nicholas might be completely clueless.

Yet another thing- keep in mind that I am in no way trying to diminish the importance to you of your friendship with the person living in Texas- don't you think your relationship would be easier- just a little- if you lived closer to each other? You could see each other more and possibly better understand what is going on in each other's lives, making each of you more empathetic regarding the other's thoughts and emotions (not that you aren't empathetic now). For example, I have two friends, both of whom I would consider very good friends of mine. One of these friends I see A LOT- we're in several classes together, we ride the same bus together, we do a lot of the same stuff, and we sit together at lunch- thus we're pretty close. The other friend I don't see much of, although we attend the same school and have 2 classes together, we just don't hang out and talk as much as my other friend and I do. This particular friend has a habit of asking me who I have a crush on all the time, and I find it hard to tell her, not because I don't trust her or I think she's going to laugh at me or anything, but because I'm not entirely sure she would understand why I liked so-and-so, among other things. She doesn't understand me quite like my other friend does, who I would tell any secret to in a heartbeat because I know it will be well received. If Sissi had someone around who knew her like that, I think she'd probably be a happier girl.

I agree with you that Sissi isn't a social outcast, but I don't think she has enough friends, or at least close friends, to keep her satisfied. That's why she's trying to get in with the group- she sees the camaraderie and rapport between the five and wants to be a part of it, because she probably doesn't get those same feelings with Herb and Nicholas. But her confident mask is, like you said, something she is accustomed to. Old habits die hard, and I doubt Sissi will lay her feelings out in front of God and everybody anytime in the near, near future, but as you said, the protective shell she created for herself is slowly beginning to crack. She's getting there, and I can't wait to see how she turns out. I think it's really going to be a great thing, both for her and all her peers- the gang included

I actually agree with a lot of this. The way she acts, she probably doesn't have much in the way of close friends to console her feelings to, which I thought was very strongly indicated when she talked with William in Marabounta. The way she let herself go, even though she maintained her front, seemed like she enjoyed talking to someone who basically has the exact same problem as her, as well as getting it in a different view, since their personalities, methods, and other reasons for being close to their respective targets slightly differ. The fact that it was Sissi who initiated the conversation really convinced me that she greatly wishes to be in a close knit relationship with someone, thus why its also the whole gang she wishes to join and not just Ulrich, unlike William.

Still, distance doesn't make the friendship, its communication most importantly. Just because we're a far, doesn't mean we can't be close in spirit, talk about our secrets or problems or console ourselves with our troubles. After all, my relationship with my friend in Texas is very similar to Jeremie's relationship with Aelita in Season 1. Like Jeremie, we can't see each other in person, only talk to each other through a screen, but at the same time, you can't deny Jeremie's close bond to Aelita during that time period that is closer than many roommates. Easier, maybe. But nothing that isn't overcomeable.